Saturday Sips – I Love You Rhett Vorhees

Morning readers. Shar and I are just about done with I Love You Rhett Vorhees. This is the follow up to Unforgettable Valentine in the Only THAT Night anthology. The story will be reproduced inside of this book so it will be seamless. In the meantime, please check it out here

Here’s a little snippet from the short story featuring Rhett and Darren from Unforgettable Valentine.

“Wow, you gotta be kidding me. You actually found him?” Darren McKissick’s best friend and former lover, Terrell Witherby sounded very surprised by Darren’s admittance.

Darren’s grin stretched the length of his face as he added three sugar cubes to his coffee. “Yep, I cannot believe it either.” He changed the phone from one shoulder to the other. “When I saw his moniker on SGM.com, RV1990 and then the face, I noticed the face; the high cheekbones, the bushy eyebrows, the freckles. He really hasn’t changed much since grammar school. He’s deep in the closet though.”

“Well that’s too bad, man you sure you wanna deal with that? And hey, at least you know he’s still alive and you can stop babbling about him. You done carrying around the valentine card and picture too now, bro? I’m sure both are starting to look worse for wear?”

Darren eyed both items he’d saved for over a decade sitting in a drawer to his left. The red valentine was more of a burgundy than the bright red it used to be when “Rhetta” gave it to him. The white lace surrounding it crumpled from being moved and yellow on the edges due to little sunlight and lots of handling. And the picture, though in better shape had been folded more times than Darren could remember. All through high school and college, he carried the picture of the kid who was a child genius in any small pocket on his person. Despite both articles looking more like artifacts that should be put in a scrapbook, he wouldn’t leave the house without them. “Nope, not gonna get rid of either. I’m going to keep them with me as a reminder so when we finally get together permanently, I’ll be reminded of how lucky I am. Damnit Terrell, it means we were destined to be together, right?”

Silence then a deep sigh came through the receiver. “Damn you sure are a freaking sap, Darren. I used to love that about you back in the day though. You sure you wadn’t a woman in your former life, man?”

Darren laughed and sat up straight at his desk, eyeing the folders he’d been staring at for the last couple of hours. He’d come in early to try getting some work done but instead he could do nothing but think about Rhett and how much he wanted to be with him forever and always. “Maybe. What I do know is I want Rhett to understand I mean business. I sent some flowers over to his job anonymously of course since he’s still in the closet and I got a bouquet ready for him when he gets back home.”

Terrell chuckled, “Heh, ah Darren, you’re pouring on, aren’t you? You’re not gonna let him get away that easily, hmm? Just don’t suffocate him, okay? I mean, he’d be a fool to turn you down after you been thinking about him for years on end. Still, be careful all right? Don’t invest all your time and energy into this man when he isn’t ready. Don’t fall in love quickly, Darren, please. I’d hate to see you fall and not able to pick yourself back up.”

Darren picked up a sharpened pencil sitting on his desk and twirled it with his fingers. He swallowed hard and looked back at the picture of Rhett wearing his cap and gown on graduation day. Just looking at the man made his heart skip a beat as it did when he chose to wear a kilt instead of a suit during the ceremony over a decade ago. His parents always did encourage him to stand out and be himself no matter what anyone else said. “I’m afraid I already have, T−I’m in love with this man, I have been for years.” Darren leaned back in the chair and tossed the pencil across the room. “And I’m gonna do everything I can to convince him that we’re meant to be.”

“Shit Darren, I swear. I wish I had somebody that loved me as much as you claim to love that boy. Oh wait, I did,” he laughed. “Or did you really care for me, Darren? Was that just lip service?”

Darren sucked in a breath and stared at the door ahead of him. Any minute one of his bosses might come in his office looking for the Edgars Accounts he was supposed to finish at eight o’clock sharp. “I− yeah, Terrell, I did care but it wasn’t love. This man is my soul mate, always has been. Like I said, I found him again which means I was meant to be his lover. Listen, I gotta get going. I got some work that needs to be finished right now, all right? I’ll make sure to give you a call after I talk with Rhett.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Later man.”

Click.

Darren pulled the headset away from his ear and exhaled, knowing he’d pissed his best friend and former lover off. “I’ll make it up to you soon, Terrell. Maybe after I tie the knot with Rhett?” Darren sat upright in his chair and pulled the Edgars file off the top off the small stack. He flipped it open and straightened the papers out to finish them. He’d done most of the work on Friday but after anticipating the weekend with Rhett, he couldn’t keep his mind on anything else. Darren had never been one of those people who lost focus so easily but having Rhett Vorhees seemingly within reach changed everything in his life. Working wasn’t a priority with the prospects of a committed relationship with Rhett in his midst.

Darren had to make that longtime dream of being with his first true valentine a reality.

* * * *

Hope you enjoyed. Look for the book to be released in March. It needs to go to the betas and then onto the editor.

In the meantime make sure you check out brother muse’ Michael Mandrake I Love it Rough Blogtour. Michael will stop by on Wednesday with his inspiration for the Wind Down.